U.S. patent number 9,773,743 [Application Number 14/430,173] was granted by the patent office on 2017-09-26 for versatile and reliable intelligent package.
This patent grant is currently assigned to STORA ENSO OYJ. The grantee listed for this patent is STORA ENSO OYJ. Invention is credited to Juha Maijala.
United States Patent |
9,773,743 |
Maijala |
September 26, 2017 |
Versatile and reliable intelligent package
Abstract
A package comprises a body, and an electrically conductive
pattern supported by said body. An interface portion is configured
to receive a module to a removable attachment with the package. The
electrically conductive pattern comprises, at least partly within
said interface portion, a wireless coupling pattern that
constitutes one half of a wireless coupling arrangement.
Inventors: |
Maijala; Juha (Espoo,
FI) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
STORA ENSO OYJ |
Helsinki |
N/A |
FI |
|
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Assignee: |
STORA ENSO OYJ (Helsinki,
FI)
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Family
ID: |
50340632 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/430,173 |
Filed: |
September 23, 2013 |
PCT
Filed: |
September 23, 2013 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/FI2013/050916 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
March 20, 2015 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2014/044918 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
March 27, 2014 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20150249059 A1 |
Sep 3, 2015 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
|
|
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Sep 21, 2012 [FI] |
|
|
20125979 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L
23/585 (20130101); H01L 23/642 (20130101); H05K
1/0292 (20130101); H05K 1/0239 (20130101); H05K
1/028 (20130101); H01L 23/564 (20130101); H01L
23/645 (20130101); H01L 23/4985 (20130101); A61J
1/035 (20130101); H01L 23/66 (20130101); B65D
25/00 (20130101); H05K 1/0275 (20130101); H05K
3/301 (20130101); H05K 3/303 (20130101); H05K
2203/0195 (20130101); B65D 2203/10 (20130101); H05K
2201/09045 (20130101); H05K 2201/2036 (20130101); H05K
2201/053 (20130101); H05K 1/0216 (20130101); H05K
3/0052 (20130101); H05K 2201/056 (20130101); H01L
2924/0002 (20130101); H05K 3/305 (20130101); H05K
2201/09954 (20130101); H05K 2203/0228 (20130101); H05K
2201/0909 (20130101); H05K 2201/0999 (20130101); H05K
1/111 (20130101); H05K 2201/09254 (20130101); A61J
2200/30 (20130101); H05K 1/165 (20130101); H05K
2201/09263 (20130101); H05K 2201/09127 (20130101); A61J
2205/60 (20130101); H01L 2924/0002 (20130101); H01L
2924/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01L
23/66 (20060101); H01L 23/64 (20060101); H01L
23/498 (20060101); H01L 23/00 (20060101); H01L
23/58 (20060101); B65D 25/00 (20060101); A61J
1/03 (20060101); H05K 3/30 (20060101); H05K
1/11 (20060101); H05K 1/16 (20060101); H05K
3/00 (20060101); H05K 1/02 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2353350 |
|
Jan 2003 |
|
CA |
|
102208903 |
|
Oct 2011 |
|
CN |
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1 758 050 |
|
Feb 2007 |
|
EP |
|
2 290 926 |
|
Mar 2011 |
|
EP |
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WO 98/36727 |
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Aug 1998 |
|
WO |
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WO 02/093881 |
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Nov 2002 |
|
WO |
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WO 02/095675 |
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Nov 2002 |
|
WO |
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WO 2005/123186 |
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Dec 2005 |
|
WO |
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WO 2006/076806 |
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Jul 2006 |
|
WO |
|
WO 2008/000279 |
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Jan 2008 |
|
WO |
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WO 2008/014489 |
|
Jan 2008 |
|
WO |
|
WO 2011/161299 |
|
Dec 2011 |
|
WO |
|
WO 2012/055021 |
|
May 2012 |
|
WO |
|
WO 2012/110700 |
|
Aug 2012 |
|
WO |
|
Other References
International Search Report issued in PCT/FI2013/050916, dated Feb.
24, 2014. cited by applicant .
Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority issued in
PCT/FI2013/050916, dated Feb. 24, 2014. cited by applicant .
Chinese Office Action and Chinese Search Report, issued Sep. 7,
2016, for Chinese Application No. 201380059823.5, along with a
partial English translation of the Chinese Office Action. cited by
applicant .
Supplementary European Search Report, dated Mar. 18, 2016, for
corresponding European Application No. 13 83 8256. cited by
applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Nguyen; An T
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Birch, Stewart, Kolasch &
Birch, LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A package, comprising: a body, an electrically conductive
pattern supported by said body, an interface portion configured to
receive a module to a removable attachment with said package,
wherein said electrically conductive pattern comprises, at least
partly within said interface portion, a wireless coupling pattern
that constitutes one half of a wireless coupling arrangement, a
ground track that is supported by said body and comprises a ground
coupling pattern located at least partly within said interface
portion, an impedance element coupled between said electrically
conductive pattern and said ground track, and a breakable portion
of said electrically conductive pattern; wherein said breakable
portion is located between the wireless coupling pattern and said
impedance element.
2. A package according to claim 1, wherein said wireless coupling
pattern is one of: a capacitive coupling patch, an inductive
coupling loop.
3. A package according to claim 2, wherein said at least parts of
the ground coupling pattern and the wireless coupling pattern are
located at opposite ends of the interface portion.
4. A package according to claim 1, wherein said impedance element
is a capacitance.
5. A package according to claim 1, wherein said breakable portion
extends across a perforation in said body.
6. A package according to claim 1, wherein said breakable portion
extends across a breakable wall of a compartment defined by said
body.
7. A package according to claim 1, wherein: said electrically
conductive pattern comprises at least two wireless coupling
patterns, each of said at least two wireless coupling patterns
constitutes one half of a wireless coupling arrangement, and said
at least two wireless coupling patterns are located differently
within said interface portion.
8. A package according to claim 1, wherein: the package comprises
two electrically conductive patterns, each of which is configured
to behave in the same way as a response to a particular change in
the package, each of said two electrically conductive patterns
comprises, at least partly within said interface portion, a
respective wireless coupling pattern that constitutes one half of a
wireless coupling arrangement, and said wireless coupling patterns
are located differently within said interface portion.
9. A package according to claim 7, wherein: the locations of said
wireless coupling patterns within said interface portion are
separated by 90 or 180 degrees turns around an axis of symmetry of
said interface portion.
10. A package according to claim 1, wherein: said body comprises a
layer of fibrous or plastic material that comprises a plane portion
and a bendable portion, in an open configuration said plane portion
and said bendable portion are both within the same plane, and in a
closed configuration said bendable portion is bent out of the plane
of said plane portion to define a module compartment limited by at
least part of both said plane portion and said bendable
portion.
11. A package according to claim 10, wherein: said layer of fibrous
or plastic material comprises multiple bendable portions that in
said open configuration are within the same plane as said plane
portion, in said closed configuration said bendable portions
define, together with at least part of said plane portion, a closed
module compartment.
12. A package according to claim 4, wherein said breakable portion
extends across a perforation in said body.
13. A package according to claim 4, wherein said breakable portion
extends across a breakable wall of a compartment defined by said
body.
14. A package according to claim 2, wherein: said electrically
conductive pattern comprises at least two wireless coupling
patterns, each of said at least two wireless coupling patterns
constitutes one half of a wireless coupling arrangement, and said
at least two wireless coupling patterns are located differently
within said interface portion.
15. A package according to claim 3, wherein: said electrically
conductive pattern comprises at least two wireless coupling
patterns, each of said at least two wireless coupling patterns
constitutes one half of a wireless coupling arrangement, and said
at least two wireless coupling patterns are located differently
within said interface portion.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention concerns in general the technology of intelligent
packages. In particular the invention concerns a versatile and
reliable way of implementing an interface between a package portion
and a communications module.
BACKGROUND
The term intelligent package generally refers to a package that can
electronically store, log, and/or reveal information about one or
more products contained in the package. Package-borne intelligence
can also store, log, and/or reveal information about how the
package has been handled in a delivery chain. A simple example of
an intelligent package is one equipped with an RFID (Radio
Frequency IDentification) tag.
More elaborate examples of intelligent packages are known for
example from the patent publication WO 2011/161299. It introduces
the idea of attaching a communications module to a package, such as
a consumer package of pharmaceuticals. The package, which may take
for example the form of a blister sheet for individual pills,
comprises conductive tracks that constitute some simple electric
circuitry. When the communications module is attached to the
package, an interface section of the module makes contact with
conductive patches on the package, so that the module can notice
changes that affect the state of said electric circuitry. As an
example, if a patient removes a pill from the package by pushing it
through the bottom layer of the blister sheet, the rupturing bottom
layer may cut one or more conductive tracks, which the
communications module notices as a change in the electric
conductivity between certain conductive patches.
Despite its significant advantages, the technical solution
described above leaves room for improvement, particularly relating
to the interface between the package and the communications module.
Concerning medical applications, patients may have for example
visual or motoric disabilities that make it difficult for them to
change the communications module from an exhausted package to a new
one by themselves. Even if the task of attaching a communications
module to a package was entrusted to trained personnel, the
possibility of human error and even a simple thing like
manufacturing tolerances may cause difficulties in making the
combination function properly. In other kinds of applications the
known solution may be considered inflexible in terms of limiting
the design of the package.
SUMMARY
The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a
basic understanding of some aspects of various invention
embodiments. The summary is not an extensive overview of the
invention. It is neither intended to identify key or critical
elements of the invention nor to delineate the scope of the
invention. The following summary merely presents some concepts of
the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed
description of exemplifying embodiments of the invention.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a
package that comprises a body, an electrically conductive pattern
supported by said body, and an interface portion configured to
receive a module to a removable attachment with said package. The
electrically conductive pattern comprises, at least partly within
said interface portion, a wireless coupling pattern that
constitutes one half of a wireless coupling arrangement.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a
communications module for a package. The communications module
comprises a module body and--at an outer surface of said module
body--one or more wireless coupling patterns that constitute a half
of a wireless coupling arrangement. The communications module
further comprises a sensor of electric characteristics, said sensor
being configured to direct an excitation signal to said half of a
wireless coupling arrangement and to measure a response to said
excitation signal.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided
a package system comprising a package and a communications module
of the above-described kind.
The approach of using a short-distance wireless communications link
between the package and the communications module involves many
advantages. The module may obtain information about changes in the
package without a carefully completed mechanical connection between
the two, which means less stringent requirements for the step where
the module is attached to the package and looser tolerances in
manufacturing. The package, the module, or both may comprise
redundant means for setting up the short-distance wireless
communications link at different locations, which allows using the
same module with different kinds of packages, and which may also
allow for degrees of freedom in the orientation that the module has
in relation to the package. The means for setting up the
short-distance communications link may be made so that they are not
visible for an ordinary user, which gives more freedom to visual
design and may lessen the distrust that some users feel against
electronic gadgets or electricity in general.
The exemplary embodiments of the invention presented in this patent
application are not to be interpreted to pose limitations to the
applicability of the appended claims. The verb "to comprise" is
used in this patent application as an open limitation that does not
exclude the existence of also unrecited features. The features
recited in depending claims are mutually freely combinable unless
otherwise explicitly stated.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the
invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The
invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its
method of operation, together with additional objects and
advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following
description of specific embodiments when read in connection with
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a principle of setting up a short-distance
wireless communications link between a package and a communications
module,
FIG. 2 illustrates patches and tracks on a surface of a
package,
FIG. 3 illustrates an equivalent circuit of a sensor in a module
and a track on a package,
FIG. 4 illustrates an equivalent circuit in which the ground
connection goes through a user,
FIG. 5 illustrates an equivalent circuit in which the ground
connection is capacitive,
FIG. 6 illustrates an equivalent circuit in which the ground
connection is galvanic,
FIG. 7 illustrates an example of leading tracks to a module through
various routes,
FIG. 8 illustrates one possible way of providing a breaking
point,
FIG. 9 illustrates two coupling patterns in one conductive
pattern,
FIG. 10 illustrates two coupling patterns, each with its own
conductive pattern,
FIG. 11 illustrates one possibility of using a portion of the
package to hold the module in place,
FIG. 12 illustrates another possibility of using a portion of the
package to hold the module in place,
FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a module,
FIG. 14 illustrates an alternative structure of a capacitive sensor
and its driver circuit
FIG. 15 illustrates electronic coupling patterns on a package and
linkage patterns on items,
FIG. 16 illustrates an alternative way of placing electronic
coupling patterns on a package and linkage patterns,
FIG. 17 illustrates another alternative way of placing electronic
coupling patterns on a package and linkage patterns, and
FIG. 18 illustrates yet another alternative way of placing
electronic coupling patterns on a package and linkage patterns.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
According to the principle illustrated in FIG. 1, a package may
comprise a body 101, which may also be called a package body, and
an electrically conductive pattern 102 supported by the body 101.
The material, form, size, structure, and other attributes of the
body 101 are typically dictated to some extent by the product(s)
that the package is designed to contain. The body 101 may support
also other parts of the package, and the package may comprise
subparts. As one example of a package we may consider a package for
pharmaceuticals that come in the form of discrete individual pieces
like pills or capsules. In that exemplary case the body 101 may
consist of two layers of cardboard and a blister inlay that defines
a number of compartments. The blisters protrude through openings in
the top cardboard layer, and the bottom cardboard layer has
correspondingly placed openings or weaker spots through which the
pills or capsules can be released. Pressing a protruding
compartment forces the pill or capsule contained therein downwards,
until it ruptures the layer beneath it and falls out.
The electrically conductive pattern 102 may be for example a
pattern that has been produced on one surface of the body 101 with
a printing method, like inkjet printing, offset printing, or flexo
printing. Techniques that enable printing electrically conductive
patterns on surfaces are known for example from patent publication
WO2009/135985 and from patent applications FI 20125088 and FI
20125090, which at the time of writing this description are not yet
available to the public. Alternatively the electrically conductive
pattern 102 may be for example a piece of metal foil laminated onto
a surface or into the structure of the body 101, or a pattern that
has been formed with a thin film manufacturing technique, like
pulsed laser deposition. The electrically conductive pattern 102
does not need to constitute the outermost layer or a visible part
on a surface of the body, but that is neither excluded by the
invention.
The package comprises an interface portion 103 that is configured
to receive a module to a removable attachment with the package. The
way in which the interface portion 103 is configured to receive a
module involves considerable freedom. Taken that--in a way that
will be described in more detail later--there will be established a
short-range communications link between the two, the interface
portion 103 should comprise certain free space where no structural
feature of the package obstructs the module from coming to a
relatively close contact with a portion of a surface (which may be
an inner or outer surface) of the package. Taken that it is
advantageous that--once attached--the module remains relatively
stationary with respect to the package, the interface portion 103
should comprise and/or should allow easily adding some attachment
forms, like side walls that keep the module from moving sideways on
the surface of the package. The interface portion 103 may also
comprise and/or may allow easily attaching some covering form or
forms that keep the module from being detached from the package.
The interface portion 103 may also comprise some (tacky) adhesive,
tape, or other attaching means such as one half of a hook-and-loop
type attachment band for (removably) holding the module in place
with respect to the package.
The interface portion 103 is also used to set up a short-range
wireless communications link between the package and the module.
Therefore the electrically conductive pattern 102 comprises, at
least partly within the interface portion 103, a wireless coupling
pattern 104 that constitutes one half of a wireless coupling
arrangement. The corresponding other half of the wireless coupling
arrangement is located in the module that is to be received by the
interface portion 103. When the module has been received in the
interface portion 103, the halves of the wireless coupling
arrangement come close enough to each other so that an electric
signal can be conveyed over it. According to an embodiment of the
invention the wireless coupling pattern 104 is either a capacitive
coupling patch or an inductive coupling loop that is located within
or extends into the interface portion 104 as a galvanically coupled
extension of the electrically conductive pattern 102.
FIG. 2 illustrates one possible practical embodiment of the
principle that was schematically described above with reference to
FIG. 1. The body 101 of the package 200 is generally planar in form
and defines individual, blister-formed compartments, of which
compartment 201 is shown as an example. The interface portion 103
is a portion of the planar surface of the package body where no
blister-formed compartments appear. The package may comprise at
least as many electrically conductive patterns as there are
compartments, but to maintain graphical clarity FIG. 2 illustrates
only one electrically conductive pattern 102 as well as a ground
track 202, which both are here printed patterns on the surface of
the body 101 that is visible in the drawing.
The wireless coupling pattern 104 is a capacitive coupling patch at
that end of the electrically conductive pattern 102 that reaches
into the interface portion 103. At the other end of the
electrically conductive pattern 102 is an impedance element 203
that is coupled between the electrically conductive pattern 102 and
the ground track 202. A breakable portion 204 of the electrically
conductive pattern 102 is located along it, i.e. between the
wireless coupling pattern 104 and the impedance element 203, so
that a direct electric connection between the wireless coupling
pattern 104 and the impedance element 203 only exists as long as
the breakable portion 204 is intact. The location and form of the
breakable portion 204 have been selected so that releasing the
contents of one of the compartments would be difficult or
impossible without breaking the breakable portion 204. In the
embodiment of FIG. 2 this means that the breakable portion 204 is a
section of the electrically conductive pattern 102 that meanders
back and forth across that portion of a bottom layer that closes
one of the compartments.
In the embodiment of FIG. 2 the ground track 202 is supported by
the body 101 in the same way as the electrically conductive pattern
102. It comprises a ground coupling pattern 205 that is located at
least partly within the interface portion 103. In FIG. 2 we assume
that the ground coupling pattern 205 is a capacitive coupling patch
just like the wireless coupling pattern 104, and located at that
end of the ground track 202 that reaches into the interface portion
103. The ground coupling pattern 104 is located at an opposite end
of that part of the interface section 103 that is defined by the
flat surface area of the body 101, in order to avoid
electromagnetic interference phenomena between the two patches.
Interference could occur as a result of stray capacitance and/or
stray inductance between the two patches. The short stubs that are
schematically shown as "side streets" of the ground track 202
remind of the fact that the same ground track may be coupled,
through respective impedance elements, to all electrically
conductive patterns, of which there are as many as there are
compartments in the package.
FIG. 3 illustrates an equivalent circuit of a package 200 as
illustrated in FIG. 2 coupled to a module 300. The impedance
element 203 is a capacitance in the embodiment of FIG. 3, meaning
that its impedance consists predominantly of capacitive reactance.
The wireless coupling arrangement 301 that couples the electrically
conductive pattern to the module 300 is a capacitive coupling, one
half of which is the wireless coupling pattern (i.e. capacitive
patch) 104 at one end of the electrically conductive pattern.
Resistances of the electrically conductive pattern and the ground
track are illustrated schematically with discrete resistors 302 and
303 respectively, and the stray capacitance between the
electrically conductive pattern and the ground track is represented
with the schematically shown capacitors 304 and 305. Inductances
within the package 200 are assumed to be so small that they can be
neglected in the equivalent circuit.
In FIG. 3 we assume that the module 300 comprises a sensor of
electric characteristics, parts of which are an integrated circuit
306, a wireless coupling pattern 307 that constitutes the other
half of the wireless coupling arrangement 301, and the electric
coupling between them. The resistance of said electric coupling is
schematically represented with the discrete resistor 308, and the
stray capacitance between said electric coupling and ground is
represented with the schematically shown capacitors 309 and 310.
Said electric coupling is shown to connect with an S0 (signal
input/output number zero) I/O lead of the integrated circuit 306,
while a voltage source 311 is coupled to an operating voltage input
of the integrated circuit 306 consisting of VDD and GND leads.
The integrated circuit 306 is a circuit that is configured to
direct an excitation signal to its S0 I/O lead and therethrough to
the wireless coupling pattern 307 that constitutes the other half
of the wireless coupling arrangement 301. The circuit is also
configured to measure a response to said excitation signal. For
example, the integrated circuit 306 may be configured to direct an
oscillating excitation signal to the wireless coupling pattern 307
that constitutes the other half of the wireless coupling
arrangement 301, and configured to measure a frequency response to
said oscillating excitation signal. Such an oscillating excitation
signal may be produced with for example a low-frequency RC
oscillator within the integrated circuit 306 in a manner known as
such. How the electric characteristics of the external circuitry
coupled to the S0 I/O lead reacts to the oscillating excitation
signal depends on the topology and characteristics of the external
circuitry, as well as on the nature of the ground connection 312
that coupled the ground track of the package 200 to the zero
potential level of the module 300.
In general, we may assume that some kind of a ground connection 312
exists. In that case the whole external circuitry (reference
numbers 309, 308, 310, 307, 301, 104, 304, 302, 305, 204, 203, and
303) that constitutes the coupling from the S0 I/O lead (through
ground connection 312) to the negative terminal of the battery 311
is coupled, as a whole, in parallel with the internal capacitor of
the low-frequency RC oscillator within the integrated circuit 306.
We assume that the impedance of said external circuitry is
dominated by its capacitive reactance, so we may consider only the
capacitances 203, 304, 305, 309, and 310 within the external
circuitry. The larger the capacitance of said external circuitry,
the lower the resonance frequency of the low-frequency RC
oscillator.
If the external circuitry is cut at breaking point 204, the
capacitance of the impedance element 203 is no more part of the
overall capacitance of the external circuitry. This makes the
overall capacitance significantly smaller, which in turn is noted
within the integrated circuit 306 as an increase of the resonance
frequency of the RC oscillator. Integrated circuits that are
capable of this kind of detecting are widely available
commercially; for example a circuit of the type EM6240 of EM
Microelectronic, Marin, Switzerland can be used.
FIG. 4 illustrates the equivalent circuit in a case where the
formation of a ground connection is left to environmental factors,
such as the hands of a human user who handles the package with its
module attached. Such an "ad hoc" type ground connection may
comprise various resistances, inductances, and capacitances, some
of which are schematically shown as FIG. 4. In general, since the
values of such resistances, inductances, and capacitances may vary
greatly depending on e.g. whether the person in question wears
gloves or not, it is not a recommendable way to implement the
ground connection between the package and the module. It may come
simply too difficult to predict the way and amount in which the
measured electric characteristics change as a response to cutting
the external circuitry at the breaking point 204, and as a
consequence reliably detecting such an incident could become
impossible.
FIG. 5 illustrates a case that is very much comparable to the
embodiment of FIG. 2 in that a capacitive ground connection goes
through a wireless coupling arrangement 501 consisting of coupling
patterns 205 and 502 in the package and the module respectively.
The connection from the module-borne coupling pattern 502 to the
negative pole of the module-borne power source 311 has some
resistance illustrated as 503, and there is some stray capacitance
illustrated as 504 between it and the ground, but in general the
impedance of the external current path between S0 and GND is
dominated by the capacitive reactances of the upper and lower
wireless coupling arrangements and the impedance element 203, which
are coupled in series (if the stray capacitances 304 and 305 are
neglected). If in such a case the circuit is cut at the breaking
point 204, the external capacitance seen by the sensor of electric
characteristics within the integrated circuit 306 decreases
radically, which can be detected as a change in the frequency of
the internal low-frequency RC oscillator.
FIG. 6 illustrates a case in which the ground connection is a
galvanic connection. It can be implemented for example by forming
electrically conductive regions both within the interface portion
of the package and the outer surface of the module, and by taking
care that these electrically conductive regions touch each other
when the module is attached in place. There is still some
resistance 601 in the ground connection, and some stray capacitance
602 to ground, but the impedance of the external circuitry is
certainly heavily dependent on the capacitive reactance of the
impedance element 203, so cutting the external circuitry at the
breaking point 204 will be relatively easy to detect within the
integrated circuit 306.
FIG. 7 is a partial cut-out diagram that demonstrates some possible
technical solutions in a package system that comprises a package
200 and a module 300. The interface portion for receiving the
module is located at that end of the package 200 that is to the
left in FIG. 7. It comprises a bent portion 701 at the very end of
the package body, constituting a pocket in which the module can be
placed. An electrically conductive pattern 102 begins from a
wireless coupling pattern 104 located within the interface portion
and runs on a surface of the package body up to a breaking point
204 at a location where releasing a product 702 from the package is
very likely to cut the electrically conductive pattern 102. Beyond
the breaking point 204 the electrically conductive pattern 102 is
coupled to a ground track 202 through an impedance element 203.
The ground track 202 continues on the other side of the package
200, where it extends up to the outer side of the interface
portion. This enables placing the point, where coupling (either
wireless or galvanic coupling) between the ground track and the
module is made, relatively far from the points where the wireless
"signal" connections are made (e.g. the location of wireless
coupling pattern 104). Using quotes in "signal" connections is
justified, because in order to properly detect the change in the
electric characteristics of the electrically conductive pattern
102. i.e. to obtain a proper signal indicative of cutting the
electrically conductive pattern at breaking point 204, the module
300 should be equipped not only with the "signal" connection but
also with the ground connection.
In order to decrease the stray capacitance between the electrically
conductive pattern 102 and the ground track 202 it is advantageous
to keep the physical distance between them as large as possible.
Therefore it is advisable that in a configuration like that of FIG.
7, where the ground track runs on the other side of the package,
the ground track is located differently than the electrically
conductive patterns on the other side. For example, if the
electrically conductive patterns follow predominantly one edge of
the package on its top side, the ground track may follow
predominantly the other edge of the package on its bottom side.
Implementing the breaking point as a part of the electrically
conductive pattern that extends across a breakable wall of a
compartment defined by the package body is not the only possible
way. FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative, in which the breakable
portion extends across a perforation 801 of the body 101. Another
feature of FIG. 8 that is an alternative to previously explained
embodiments is the location of the impedance element 203 within a
portion of the package that the user will remove in order to
release a desired product 802. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, also
the ground track 803 extends across the perforation 801 and will be
severed at the time of releasing the product 802.
FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate how the use of wireless coupling patterns
at multiple locations of the interface portion allows considerable
freedom in attaching the module to the package. The form of a
rectangular module, once attached to the package, is shown with
dashed lines. We assume that the large side surfaces of the module
are approximately square, i.e. that sides 901 and 902 are
essentially equally long. In FIG. 9, the electrically conductive
pattern 102 comprises at least two wireless coupling patterns 903
and 904, each of which constitutes one half of a wireless coupling
arrangement in the sense that if the module, which will be attached
to the package, has a corresponding coupling pattern, it can use it
to set up a wireless coupling to the electrically conductive
pattern 102 through either of the wireless coupling patterns 903
and 904.
The two wireless coupling patterns 903 and 904 are located
differently within the interface portion. In particular, the
locations of the wireless coupling patterns 903 and 904 within the
interface portion are separated by a 90 degrees turn around an axis
905 of symmetry of the module, which is thus also an axis of
symmetry of the interface portion. Assuming that all corresponding
electrically conductive patterns on the package, with which the
module should set up a wireless short-range communications link,
have similarly two wireless coupling patterns within the interface
portion, the module can be turned 90 degrees around the axis 905
without affecting the wireless short-range communications. It is
clear that if each electrically conductive pattern has even more
wireless coupling patterns, even more freedom is given to the
orientation of the module when attached to the package.
FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative, in which the package comprises
two electrically conductive patterns 1001 and 1002, each of which
is configured to behave in the same way as a response to a
particular change in the package. For example, each of the two
conductive patterns 1001 and 1002 extends to a breaking point where
they both will be cut as a response to releasing the same product
from the package. Also, beyond the breaking point each of them is
coupled to a ground track through a similarly dimensioned impedance
element. Each of the two electrically conductive patterns 1001 and
1002 comprises, at least partly within the interface portion, a
respective wireless coupling pattern 903 or 904 that constitutes
one half of a wireless coupling arrangement. The wireless coupling
patterns 903 and 904 are located differently within the interface
portion; particularly with a 90 degrees separation around an axis
905 of symmetry of the interface portion.
Depending on how the module-side wireless coupling patterns are
implemented, and also depending on how many wireless coupling
patterns there are on the package side and how they are located
within the interface portion, it may be possible to turn the module
around also other axes 906 and 907 of symmetry, particularly in
steps of 90 or 180 degrees, without affecting the wireless
short-range communications.
FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate some examples of how an originally
planar workpiece of a package body may be bent to constitute a
holder for a module that is attached to an interface portion of the
package. In FIG. 11 the body comprises a layer of fibrous and/or
plastic material that comprises a plane portion 1101 and a bendable
portion 1102. In an open configuration, which is shown on the left
in FIG. 11, the plane portion 1101 and the bendable portion 1102
are both within the same plane. For example, the workpiece may have
originally existed in the form of a cardboard sheet, from which the
form illustrated on the left in FIG. 11 has been cut with a die
cutter. In a closed configuration, which is shown on the right in
FIG. 11, the bendable portion is bent out of the plane of the plane
portion to define a module compartment that is limited by at least
part of both the plane portion 1101 and the bendable portion
1102.
In the embodiment of FIG. 12 the layer of fibrous or plastic
material comprises multiple bendable portions (for example portions
1201, 1202, 1203, and 1204) that in the open configuration are
within the same plane as the plane portion. In the closed
configuration shown at the bottom of FIG. 12 the bendable portions
define, together with at least part of the plane portion, a closed
module compartment 1205. At the top right in FIG. 12 is a
semi-closed configuration, in which the compartment has been formed
but one side of it is still open, so that a module can be slipped
in very much like into a box of sweets. This kind of embodiment is
a particularly advantageous candidate for an arrangement where
multiple wireless coupling patterns at selected locations of the
interface portion (i.e. on the inner walls of the compartment)
allow slipping the module into the compartment in any orientation
in which it fits in without problems.
FIG. 13 is an example of how a block diagram of a communications
module for a package may look like. The communications module
comprises a module body 1301, and at an outer surface of it, one or
more wireless coupling patterns that constitute a half of a
wireless coupling arrangement. Wireless coupling pattern 1302 is
shown as an example. Saying that the wireless coupling patterns are
"at" an outer surface of the communications module emphasizes that
they do not need to be exactly on the outer surface, in the sense
that they could be touched from outside the module (although that
is not excluded either). The wireless coupling patterns may be for
example embedded in a surface layer of the module body 1301.
The communications module comprises a sensor of electric
characteristics. The sensor is configured to direct an excitation
signal to the half of a wireless coupling arrangement constituted
by the wireless coupling pattern(s), and to measure a response to
the excitation signal. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 13 the
sensor of electric characteristics appears as a capacitive sensor
integrated circuit 1303. For example, a circuit of the type EM6240
of EM Microelectronic, Marin, Switzerland can be used as the
capacitive sensor integrated circuit 1303. In particular, the
sensor may be configured to direct an oscillating excitation signal
to the above-mentioned half of a wireless coupling arrangement and
to measure a frequency response to said oscillating excitation
signal.
A microcontroller 1304 is responsible for the overall operation of
the communications module. It comprises or has its disposal a
program memory 1305, into which the method to be executed by the
communications module can be stored in the form of machine-readable
instructions. The microcontroller 1304 also comprises or has its
disposal a data memory 1306, which it may use to store data that
accumulates during the operation of the communications module. The
microcontroller 1304 is configured to enable the operation of the
short-range wireless communications link by giving an enable signal
to the capacitive sensor integrated circuit 1303. The
last-mentioned is configured to send an interrupt signal to the
microcontroller 1304 in case there is something to be reported from
the short-range wireless communications link. Data, such as
commands and responses, can be transmitted in both directions
between the microcontroller 1304 and the capacitive sensor
integrated circuit 1303.
The communications module of FIG. 13 comprises a long distance
wireless communications transmitter 1307. The microcontroller 1304,
which could also be called a processor, is configured to transmit,
over the long distance wireless communications transmitter,
information indicative of measured responses to excitation signals.
This way a distant receiver and data processing unit, such as the
computer of a monitoring entity, may receive information about how
the products contained in a particular package (to which the
communications module has been attached) have been used.
The designation "long distance" is used here as a relative term
signifying that the distances over which the long distance wireless
transmitter 1307 is expected to communicate are longer than the
distances over which the communications module communicates over
the short-distance wireless communications interface. Thus even if
communications according to e.g. Bluetooth or RFID interfaces may
not be typically regarded as long-distance communications, they
fall within that category here because the short-distance wireless
communications interface is meant for use between two very closely
adjacent entities. Other possible forms of long-distance wireless
interfaces include, but are not limited to, cellular phone system
interfaces, WiFi interfaces, and WLAN interfaces.
FIG. 14 illustrates an alternative approach to setting up the
module side of the short-range wireless communications link.
Instead of the multitude of wireless coupling patterns, of which
pattern 1302 was shown as an example in FIG. 13, the arrangement
shown in FIG. 14 comprises a single, spatially extended short-range
wireless communications interface 1401. The short-range wireless
communications interface 1401 may have certain spatial resolution,
so that it can be used to set up a short-range wireless
communications link with a number of separate wireless coupling
patterns on a surface, against which the short-range wireless
communications interface 1401 will come. The sensor of electric
characters is implemented in the form of an integrated circuit
1402. This combination may be further placed in a communications
module much like the combination of the capacitive sensor
integrated circuit 1303 and the multitude of wireless coupling
patterns illustrated in FIG. 13.
Variations and modifications are possible without departing from
the scope defined by the appended claims. For example, even if
printing with conductive ink on a base material of a package or
part of package (such as label, insert, or other) may be a commonly
used solution, the invention does not exclude producing conductive
patterns with other methods including, but not being limited to,
chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, etching, laser
ablation, metal foil cutting and glueing, and others.
When items are held in a package, it may not always be simple or
straightforward to arrange the item-specific electric
characteristics so that measuring them, for example by actions of a
module attached to the package, would be reliable in all
situations. This is especially true when the items do not have
well-defined locations within the package at which they could be
expected to stay until deliberately removed from the package. As
one example we may consider that the "items" are a number of
consumer packages that are enclosed in a transport package, from
which they will be removed for sale.
FIG. 15 illustrates a package system, which comprises a package
1501 and a number of items 1502, 1503, 1504, and 1505 held in said
package 1501. We assume, as an example, that the package 1501 is a
transport package, in which a number of consumer packages 1502,
1503, 1504, and 1505 are held. A module 300 has been attached to
the package 1501, with the objective of storing in the module 300
information about the presence of items in and/or removing of items
from the package.
A first electrically conductive pattern 1506 is supported by one
side surface of the package 1501. A second electrically conductive
pattern 1507 is supported by another surface of the package. In the
case illustrated in FIG. 15 the surfaces appear as the top and
bottom surfaces of the package, but at least one of the first and
second electrically conductive patterns could be also on e.g. the
inside of the top and bottom walls of the package, or even
laminated within the walls of the package. For a reason that will
become apparent below, the first and second electrically conductive
patterns could be supported also at least partly on the same
surface or wall of the package, but they should be reasonably far
apart from each other so that any capacitive and/or inductive
coupling between them is small. What is meant by "small" in this
respect will also become more apparent below.
At least one electrically conductive linkage pattern is supported
by at least one of the items. In the case illustrated in FIG. 15
all four items are similar in this respect, so each of them has an
electrically conductive linkage pattern supported by the outer
surface of the respective item. Linkage pattern 1508 is shown as an
example. One part of the linkage pattern 1508 is adjacent to the
first electrically conductive pattern 1506 supported by the
package, and another part of the linkage pattern 1508 is adjacent
to the second electrically conductive pattern 1507 supported by the
package. The module 300 is configured to measure an electric
characteristic of a circuit comprising said first and second
electrically conductive patterns 1506 and 1507, as well as said
linkage pattern 1508.
The mutual locations of the first and second electrically
conductive patterns 1506 and 1507 and the linkage pattern 1508 are
such that what appears as the upper end of the linkage pattern 1508
is on that surface of the respective item 1505 that, when the item
1505 has been placed normally into the package 1501, comes against
that portion of the package 1501 that supports the first
electrically conductive pattern 1506. Similarly what appears as the
lower end of the linkage pattern 1508 is on that surface of the
respective item 1505 that, when the item 1505 has been placed
normally into the package 1501, comes against that portion of the
package 1501 that supports the second electrically conductive
pattern 1507.
Now the distance between the mutually adjacent patterns (i.e.
between the first conductive pattern 1506 and the upper end of the
linkage pattern 1508, and between the second conductive pattern
1507 and the lower end of the linkage pattern 1508) is much smaller
than the distance between the first and second conductive patterns
1506 and 1507. Consequently we may consider each pair of mutually
adjacent patterns as a capacitor. The ends of the linkage pattern
1508 on opposite sides of the item 1505 are galvanically coupled to
each other, so all in all the linkage pattern constitutes a double
capacitance coupling (a coupling where two capacitors are connected
in series) between the first and second conductive patterns 1506
and 1507. The double capacitance coupling is illustrated as 1508 in
the schematic circuit diagram that describes the most significant
electric characteristics of the package 1501 filled with items
1502, 1503, 1504, and 1505.
If we assume that each "component" capacitance, of which a total of
eight are shown in the circuit diagram, has a value C.sub.1, it is
straightforward to show that each double capacitance coupling has a
capacitance C.sub.1/2 and the total capacitance between the first
and second electrically conductive patterns 1506 and 1507 is
2C.sub.1 when all four items 1502, 1503, 1504, and 1505 are in the
package 1501. After one item has been taken out, three items 1502,
1503, and 1504 remain the package as shown in the second portion of
FIG. 15. The total capacitance is now 3C.sub.1/2. Consecutively
removing one item after the other causes the total capacitance to
decrease in steps of C.sub.1/2 until only one item is left, as is
shown at the bottom of FIG. 15.
In order for it to be possible for the module to reliably detect
the number of remaining items in the passage, the incremental
amount of change in capacitance (C.sub.1/2) should be large enough
compared to the stray capacitance between the first and second
electrically conductive patterns 1506 and 1507. Capacitance C is in
general related to conductor area A, separating distance d, and
medium relative permittivity .epsilon..sub.r according to the
formula C=.epsilon..sub.r.epsilon..sub.0A/d, where .epsilon..sub.0
is the permittivity of vacuum.
We may consider the question of conductor area and make the
following two assumptions: 1) the distance d.sub.2 between the
first and second electrically conductive patterns 1506 and 1507 is
for example twenty times the distance d.sub.1 between one of them
and the closest end of a linkage pattern, i.e. d.sub.2=20d.sub.1,
and 2) the overlapping conductor area in one "capacitor" formed
between the package and an item is A.sub.1, while the overlapping
conductor area between the first and second conductive patterns is
A.sub.2. With these exemplary assumptions the ratio of C.sub.1/2
over C.sub.2 (i.e. the ratio of the incremental amount of change in
capacitance over the stray capacitance between the first and second
electrically conductive patterns 1506 and 1507) then makes
10.times.A.sub.1/A.sub.2, from which it is easy to see that if we
require C.sub.1/2 to be e.g. five times C.sub.2, we must require
A.sub.1>A.sub.2/2.
In order not to require the linkage pattern area to be excessively
large in relation to the overall surface area of an item, the basic
idea illustrated above can be varied in terms of how the
electrically conductive areas are dimensioned and designed. FIG. 16
illustrates one alternative principle, namely making the first and
second electrically conductive patterns comprise two-dimensional
patches or areas separated by empty spaces. The patches of the
first electrically conductive pattern 1601 are aligned with the
empty spaces left by the second electrically conductive pattern
1602, and vice versa.
The general principle that was illustrated in FIG. 15 involves the
inherent advantage that the magnitude of the capacitive coupling
that each item represents, while still inside the package, is not
dependent on the exact location of the item. After at least one
item has been taken out of the package, the remaining items may be
left with some empty space around them, so that they can slide back
and forth. However, assuming that the conductive patterns are
conductive enough so that resistive losses can be ignored, the
possible movements of the items have no effect on measuring the
overall capacitance.
If this advantageous feature is to be maintained in an arrangement
following the principle of FIG. 16, one possibility is to make the
dimension of the linkage patterns in the possible moving
direction(s) larger than the width in that direction of the gaps in
the electrically conductive patterns. FIG. 16 shows an example, in
which the linkage pattern on each item is essentially as wide in
the longitudinal direction of the package as one conductive patch
and its adjacent empty space together. This way the overlapping
area that is common to the conductive pattern and the linkage
pattern remains constant irrespective of any longitudinal movement
of the item inside the package.
FIG. 17 shows another alternative principle, in which each of the
first and second conductive patterns 1701 and 1702 is continuous in
the longitudinal direction of the package, but they are located at
non-overlapping parts of the top and bottom surfaces of the
package. If. as is shown in FIG. 17, the linkage patterns have
sufficient coverage on the top and bottom surfaces of the items, it
is of no importance to the capacitive coupling whether or not an
item rotates around the rotation axis 1703 while still inside the
package.
FIG. 18 shows yet another alternative principle, in which each of
the first and second conductive patterns 1801 and 1802 are on the
same surface of the package. In this case also the items are only
required to have the linkage pattern prepared on one side, which
most advantageously is that side that comes against that side of
the package that supports the first and second conductive patterns
1801 and 1802. Again, sufficient coverage of the linkage pattern
may be used to provide immunity against similar rotation of the
items as above in FIG. 17: for example a conductive patch, which
covers the most of that side of the item that comes against that
side of the package where the first and second conductive patterns
are, makes sure that the rotational position of the item around an
axis 1703 does not affect the coupling.
In the graphical illustration provided in FIGS. 16, 17, and 18 it
is assumed that the package is equipped with a communications
module that has the necessary couplings to the first and second
conductive patterns on the package. The module could be located for
example on or close to the left end of the package in the position
shown in the drawings. As such, the principle of having capacitive
couplings between conductive patterns of the package and linkage
patterns on the items is not sensitive to whether the coupling
between the conductive patterns of the package and the module is
capacitive or has some other form, like galvanic, inductive, or
other.
We may assume that while the items are still inside the package
(for example when consumer packages are still inside a transport
package), it is not necessary to equip them with communications
modules of their own--although that is not excluded either. We may
also assume that at least in some cases it may be advantageous to
equip an item (like a consumer package) with a communications
module of its own once it has been removed from the (transport)
package. If the items are consumer packages or other kinds of
smaller packages, which in turn include items the removing of which
should be monitored, we may have a "nested" system: the linkage
pattern on an item, as illustrated in FIGS. 15 to 18, may actually
consist of electrically conductive patterns that the communications
module, which will eventually be attached to that item, in turn
uses to detect the removing of smaller items from inside that
item.
* * * * *